Family Comes First
by sunnydayz0691
Summary: SasukeXSakura. Family troubles with the Uchihas' Finds hope in Sakura. Love triangle. Alternitive Universe. Drama, romace, twists, turns, surprises. R&R!
1. Home Is Where the Heart Is?

Disclaimer: I don't own any othet the Naruto characters except for Gerdie. I made her up. XD

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"Get out! Get out, right now!" screamed the livid Uchiha mother. She grabbed a large vase from the side table sitting in the hallway, filled with carnations that were somewhat wilted. She aimed for her son's head but missed and hit the wallwithin several inches from her target. The antique china vase shattered into meaningless pieces, water splashed on the wall, the droopy flowers laying helplessly on the floor.

Sasuke didn't need a second invitation to leave. He ran out with only the clothes on his back and the shoes on his feet, running away from the lonesome, rundowncountry home, away from the only troubling life he knows.

He was weak and unnourished; his immediate family of seven was in chaos every minute, of every hour, of everyday. The father and mother were both Uchiha clan members. Unfortunately, the young father made the choice to leave his wife and children, for another woman, when Sasuke was nine years old. His youngest sibling was barely a month old when the boozed-up dad left.

That was when his mother started her addiction to alcohol and when her deep depression started. But what else could she do? She had enough money to feed her family and provide them with shelter, but that was it. She was unable to afford medicines that her family needed, including the anti-depressant she needed herself. The alcohol was her way to get out of the damned reality she faced everyday.

This was a danger to all of the Uchiha children. Sasuke spent almost his whole childhood caring for his little brothers and sisters, making sure they had at least one small meal per day, even if he had to sacrifice his supper day after day. He could recall that once he hadn't eaten for four days straight; he had no other choice, though. His mother was working a back-breaking, minimum wage job, thirteen hours everyday. When she was home for the other eleven hours, Sasuke would take his five other siblings into his small closet-like room and waited for their mother's next day shiftto begin once again, trying to evade her usual drunken-self.

Now seventeen years old, taking care of his needy family had aged Sasuke mentally and physically, more than anyone could imagine. It was like he was at least a decade older, and far more mature than any other rowdy, undisciplined, and inconsiderate teenagers his age. Even though Sasuke hated the kids his age, he still envied them. They had parents, had food, had love.

_Love… Something I have never received, nor something I will ever give. _

Sasuke didn't really know where he was going or how long it would take him to get there, but he knew one thing:

_I will come back for you, brothers and sisters, all of you. I'll get you out of that hell-hole that I once called home. _

Still running from the life he disowned, Sasuke was traveling on a dirt road. Not too far ahead, he could see where the old country path merged with the black paved road.

A little ferther from the merging intersectionwas the city limits of Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village. He estimated he was somewhere around four miles away. He had already gone several miles, probably more but he had not counted.

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The sun was starting to set, now. It was mid afternoon when Sasuke's mom had kicked him out, too drunk to know what she was doing. He had started walking about two miles back. This gave him more time to think and analyze his situation. There was still the problem of food and a place to stay,but tonight, Sasuke knew there would be no where for him to stay. That would not be a major problem, though. He had spent the night outside many times in his youth and once a blue moon after his father left. He decided to spend the night laying in an old oak, it's branches placed on the trunk so perfect that it could support a person's body without falling through the slits between them. 

Sasuke climbed in the tree and sat on a thick branch and let his hands rest behind his head and soft, jet-blackhair. He had a sort of smug look on his face, partly because he was up for the challange and partly because he was trying to hide his trying feelings.

_Everything will be alright. I'll get a job, make some money, and get my family out of there soon. Maybe I'll befriend a person or two and get some help. I don't care what I have to do, my family comes first._

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Author's Note. 

This is like the introduction to the story, that is why it is so short. In my following chapters to come, Sakura will be introduced into the mix. Lots of adventure to come, not to mention some romance.

I'm writing this for personal reasons. I would like to dedicate it to a friend of mine; you know who you are. Thanks for being there for me, my friend. Even if we're miles away, I'm glad we can still be great friends.

Don't forget to comment!

-Mj


	2. Gerdie and the Outhouse

Morning. Sasuke woke up a little after dawn, the sky painted with various colors of reds and oranges with some leftover blues and purples from the prior night's sky. It was beautiful, really; sitting in a lovely oak, relaxing, watching the sun rise and see the beautiful palette of colors appear in the never ending sky.

He wished that his whole life could have been like this. He wished his family was like the classic, perfect TV personas from the old show _Leave It to Beaver_, his life of never ending happiness. The perfect mother that stayed home to clean and cook; the perfect father that worked everyday and came home to play football with his son; the perfect brothers and sisters that were favored by the mother and were quite annoying. Instead of shooing brothers and sisters out of the room when trying to get an intimate moment with a girlfriend, Sasuke protected his kin from the horrible woman they called mom. Instead of his siblings being annoying and a down right pain-in-the-ass, they were scared to even drink water, fearing it might be the same liquid that changed their mother from an angel to a dragon. Instead of going to the park as a child to play with his family, Sasuke watched his whole life fall apart in front of his own eyes.

_No one should have a childhood like mine, trying to take care of their siblings, trying to keep them alive to see another day. No one should have to go through the pain of watching their mother fall into a mental state so bad, that they knew she would never return to normal. _

But Sasuke had to stay focused, had to remember why he was near Konoha in the first place. His thoughts of home and family had engulfed his mind. It hadn't even occurred to Sasuke that his stomach was growling endlessly, but it was probably because he was very accustomed to this feeling. He looked at the city of Konoha then back to the colorful blanket of stars and sky above; his face was emotionless.

Sasuke jumped from the tree that he had spent the night in and landed on the balls of his feet, crouching. His clothes were somewhat tattered and torn, little spots of mud or dust here and there. He started to walk down the road that lead to the city, somewhat gingerly as he entered Kohona's city limits. He brushed off the front of his shirt trying to look half way decent.

A sign suddenly appeared in front of it. He hadn't been paying enough attention to notice it. On it were red bubble letters that said _Welcome to Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village_. Around the greeting were little objects, possibly knives of some sort. There were some that were small, had four prongs, and looked sort of like a star. The other looked like an arrow, perhaps? In the middle of the weapon, it started to get wide fast, and then reseeded into a sharp point. On the other side was a circular hole. They looked alien to Sasuke; he had never seen anything of that sort before. He looked under the first greeting, and read _Home to the Hidden Leaf Ninja_.

_Ninja? I thought those were just myths. It sounds pretty dumb that grown men would run around in black tights, with a belt tied around their heads, playing with nunchucks all day_. Sasuke smirked to himself.

As he was treading along, Sasuke wanted to look as normal as possible, nodding his head as people walked by. A small smile even crept up to the corners of his dry lips.

Maybe I really can pull this off.

Food stands seemed to never end on the cobble stone streets of the busy city. Meats, breads, noodles, vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, eggs, candies, and other things that he had never seen before… they were all so plentiful, so delicious, so delectable... Sasuke's eyes grew wide with desire, a little stream of drool starting to pool at the edge of his mouth. His stomach growled louder, now. It was like it was calling to him, saying _feed me… feed me…_

Without thinking, Sasuke picked up a Nashi from a near by fruit stand and bit into it. He could feel the juice excrete from the fleshy inside of the round fruit. He cooed with delight.

"Are you going to pay for that?" asked a raspy voice from behind the stand. Her long-ago grayed hair was tied back into a tight, short pony with a dirty blue scarf on top, folded in half and tied in the back for a make-shift headband. Her thick hands' knuckles were resting on her stocky hips. She must have been the person running the booth.

Sasuke stared blankly at her. He wasn't sure what came over him, he usually had good self control when it came to food. He knew he couldn't pay for it; he didn't even have a single yen.

"I asked you a question, boy!" The old woman was flaming, now. She didn't like it when people stole from her cart.

"I can't," was all that Sasuke said.

"Well, how do you think you're going to pay me for it then?" She started to get suspicious. She had a huge, round, brown mole on the side of her hairy chin; worst of all, it had two gray hairs coming right out from the center. Her brow was furrowed. The eyebrows were so long and bushy, that a barber would have no problem turning the cut brow hairs into a wig, figuratively speaking, of course. For the first time, Sasuke noticed she had a deep accent. He thought she was probably European. "Well, then, boy. I guess you'll just have to work for me to pay it off." She snickered; it was bloodcurdling.

Sasuke cringed. Then something came to him…

_A job! This might be my only chance… who else would give a filthy guy like me a job, besides this crazy elder?_

"Will I get paid?" He asked.

The woman sighed; mucus was thick in her throat. "I suppose so. You will get 532 yen (equal to about $4) per hour, got that? I guess that makes… 3724 yen (equal to about $28) per week. Are you a strong boy?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"Good. You will be carrying my fruit baskets from my fruit farm back to here." She smiled a toothless grin and raised a caterpillar brow. "My name is Metilda Gertrude Atkinson, but you can call me Gerdie. What's your name, boy?"

_The name suits you._ "Sasuke," he paused. "Stop calling me boy.'

**(A Few Days Later)**

Gerdie watched Sasuke working hour after hour, carrying a woven basket full of pears and apples, back and forth, back and forth. Every night at the end of the day, she watched him, trying to figure out where he went after his hard work at the fruit stand. He'd go a hundred yards or so, and turn at the corner where the banana stand is. Beyond that, she didn't know where he went.

Tonight, Gerdie wanted to see where her young employee lived. So, without him knowing, the old woman followed him with her wooden cane in hand. She followed him discreetly down the cobble stone road, barely making any noise except for the quiet shuffling of her old feet.

Gerdie watched Sasuke walking for a while. He just walked, and walked, and walked, until he stopped and disappeared into a shady oak right outside of the city limits.

She thought to herself, _Maybe he doesn't have a place to stay. I'll ask him tomorrow if he would like to stay at my place for a while._

**(Next Morning)**

Sasuke yawned as he was on his way to work for the day. His back was aching horribly, as was his neck. Carrying fruit on wasn't doing anything for him.

When he got to the Gerdie's fruit stand, she spoke up.

"Boy, I know you don't have a place to go after the day's work. Now, I'm only going to offer this to you once and only once: if you need a place to stay at night, you're welcome in my home." She smiled, her mole moved when her wrinkled cheeks crinkled into it.

"Don't call me boy, Miss Gerdie," grunted Sasuke. "And thanks, I do need a place to stay."

_This couldn't get any better. I have six days of pay, plus I get to stay at Gerdie's for free. I'll have enough money to get my sibs out of that house in no time._

**(That Night, Gerdie's)**

Gerdie's was nothing special. She lived in a run down apartment building. The floors creaked with complaint when someone would walk on the, the doors' hinges protested when someone tried to open one. She had a little wood-burning stove, which was very rare because no one had those kinds of stoves anymore. She had an old-time icebox in the kitchen by the stove. Cabinets were full of ingredients for cooking dinners and desserts. An old table, with even older chairs, was placed between the kitchen and living room. A tattered couch sat in the middle of the living room. A little side table with the _Holy Bible_ sat next to the sofa. An oil lamp was set next to the old book. There was no electricity, no TVs, no video games, no radios, no computers, no heating, no air conditioning. There were two other rooms left, both of which had a steel-framed, twin sized mattress with the same side table and oil lamp on them. Sasuke looked around.

"Miss Gerdie, where's the toilet?"

"Well, out there, of course!" She smiled. Gerdie looked out the window. Outside was a little hut-looking thing, a crescent moon was carved out of the door.

'No way, you're joking… right?" Sasuke was stunned and disgusted at the same time. Even though his family didn't have much, they did have a toilet inside their house.

"Ha, you should have seen me in the winter of '44. Back in the old country, we didn't even have an outhouse. We had to squat in the bushes when there was a blizzard outside! Consider yourself lucky, young man." She smiled and started to talk more about the 'old country' and when she was younger.

On the outside, Gerdie looked like a cave man, and acted like one too; but in the inside, Sasuke soon found out, she's just like him… lonely, poor, and no one to love.

"Miss Gerdie, I'll be right back. I'm going to use the… bathroom… real quick."

Sasuke walked down the rickety stairs and outside to the back yard. He reached for the termite-eaten door, but someone opened it before he could.

The young woman shrieked. Her green eyes widened with the scary surprise. Sasuke only jumped a little bit.

"What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" her eyes narrowed. "I think you're stalking me! Why were you outside the bathroom!" she demanded.

"Chill. Nature called and I have to answer." His face didn't change expression.

"Well, next time, knock, okay?" The young woman didn't get out of the way.

"Excuse me," said Sasuke, agitated.

"Oh, sorry." She blushed a little bit. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I live in 3C."

"Sasuke. 2B."

"You live with ol' lady Gertrude?" she asked.

"Yeah, so?"

Sakura didn't say anything. She reached out her hand to shake his.

"I'm good, thanks."

She forgot where she was and that she just came from the bathroom.

"Oh, sorry. Heh heh." Her cheeks turned a bright pink, similar to the color of her silky hair.

She stepped out of the outhouse and waved. "Bye, Sasuke."

"See ya," he answered back sarcastically.

_What a loser_.

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Author's Note

That was a pretty quick chapter, guys. Sorry it isn't longer. I hope you like the story so far. Please don't forget to comment, I really appreciate it! Also, sorry for any grammatical errors or misspelled words. I'm not the best in English. '

Mj


	3. Death of a Friend

Many weeks had passed; Sasuke had lost count. His work was grueling and uneventful, not to mention the toll it took on his spine. His back ached from the heavy, woven baskets of fruit that burdened him everyday. The upside to it, though, was that he had enough yen to make the trip back to his family; however, he didn't have enough to support his siblings when he brought them back to Konoha.

Gerdie was making Sasuke work harder, now, than ever before. Not only did he have to pick and transport the fruit, but also had to wash them and tend the stand for some-odd hours. Sasuke thought that the elderly woman was getting lazy, assigning all the hard work needed to be to him instead of even helping out a little.

But he was wrong; very wrong. He would figure this out soon enough.

One night after the back breaking jobs Gerdie had assigned to him earlier in the day, Sasuke found his employer, nay, his friend lying on the cold and dusty wood flooring. Her face was pale and looked almost as if it was plastic leather, for lack of a better term. Gerdie's eyes were still open, stale from the life that was unreasonably taken from her grasp.

Gerdie was holding a pen in her bony fingers; a message was scribed onto the floor next to her. Scattered around the floor and counter were note cards filled with recipes and some blank ones waiting to be written on.

_It must have been sudden; otherwise her eyes would probably have been closed. _

Sasuke ruefully inched himself closer to the corpse of Gerdie. He could start to feel the sorrow well up inside of his body; similar to that he felt when his father left them, similar to the feeling when he first saw his mom out of control.

Sasuke lifted the corpse off the floor. Gerdie's body was heavy, stiff, and frail.

_She should have lived longer…_

Gerdie was healthy over all. Very stocky, good health, no diseases. An infection had began growing a couple months ago in some of her internal organs, such as her liver, kidney, and pancreas; this will not be determined, though, until later, after her autopsy.

A single tear dropped from Sasuke's deep red eye, gliding down his cheek and staining a dehydrated floor board.

He carried the woman to a wooden wagon he had been using the couple trips to her little fruit farm, trying to make it somewhat easier on himself. Sasuke pulled the wagon, a sheet covering the corpse, to the city morgue two blocks away.

**(Two Days Later)**

"We are gathered here today…" started the preacher. Gerdie's coffin was closed, cream colored lilies lying on top of the glossy lid. Ten or so people stood around the coffin, their heads bowed in respect for the woman. Sasuke stood at the foot of the casket, his hands folded in front of him, head bowed with tears in his eyes. An elder put her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

After the funeral, he went to her rickety, old house and sat down in Gerdie's old favorite chair. He rested his arms on his knees, his shoulders arched and head still bowed. His body shook with tremors as he softly cried.

**(One Week Later) **

"She left everything to you, son. It said here that she updated her will about two weeks ago. She had about 20,000 yen in her account. Now, you inherit her earnings, her concession, her home, and processions."

Sasuke didn't say anything to the lawyer; he didn't even look at him.

"Well, I have other people to see about other wills and such. I am deeply sorry for your loss, and take care," said the lawyer, in a routinely manner.

He left with his heavy, leather briefcase, shutting the wooden door behind him.

Sasuke looked out the window and saw a line of people at the concession, waiting for their day's fruit. He sighed, but on his plain apron, and walked out the door. He put out a sign that said "HELP WANTED" out earlier that week.

The first person in line, a grumbling woman, murmured something about getting her fruit before she turned fifty; Sasuke just ignored this.

"Can I help you?" He asked the woman.

"Five apples, three pears. Can you make it snappy?" she asked.

Sasuke remained emotionless and got the fruit.

"Thanks," she sneered.

Next in line was a short, blond spiky-haired boy with three whiskers on his face.

"Hi, I saw your help wanted sign. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I want to be your assistant!"

_**

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Author's Note**_

_Sorry this is SO short. I wanted to stop here. I thought it was a good place to stop. Plus, I'm ubberly tired, LOL. Hope you like the 3rd chapter and I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing more. _

_Mj_


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